Business Directories

Guard foils masked ATM robbers in Bahrain

Manama, March 11, 2014

A group of masked bandits left empty-handed after attempting to rob an ATM in Saar yesterday.

Five men armed with crowbars and a cutting torch targeted the BMI Bank cash machine attached to the Nakheel Centre at 2.20am, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

They jumped out of a white Mitsubishi minivan and one of them spray-painted the ATM's surveillance camera to avoid detection.

But the men failed to notice another camera nearby, meaning the entire raid was captured on CCTV.

Video footage seen by the GDN, shows the men entering the ATM booth with the tools and the cash machine being carried out a minute later.

Two of the men then laid it on the ground, while the others attempted to open it with crowbars and a cutting torch.

However, something startled the thieves and they rushed back into the van and sped off, leaving a crowbar lying next to the cash machine.

It all happened within four minutes.

A source said a security guard on duty at the centre had confronted the men, but was threatened to be killed if he did not leave.

"One person sprayed the camera then went in and pulled the cover off the machine while another went in to help pull it out," he said.

"They were trying to open it when the guard confronted them but was scared off - they told him if he didn't leave they would kill him.

"The guard went and called the police."

Police confirmed the attempted robbery, which happened in front of St Christopher's School, and said those responsible left empty-handed.

"Investigations are underway," said an Interior Ministry official. The ATM booth was cordoned off by police tape yesterday and the cash machine had been taken away for forensic examinations. - TradeArabia News Service